You Owe Me
by Justthisfangirl
Summary: Arthur discovers Merlin's secret. Thats pretty much it. Rated M because, lets be honest, everybody reads M fics.


Merlin sat on the bed, flicking aimlessly through the big brown book in front of him. Occasionally, he would see something that caught his eye, and lean towards it, so his nose was practically touching the page. He would start to whisper, his mouth forming words that seemed so out of place in Camelot, but that also seemed to be the most natural thing in the world. As if by some trick of the light, his eyes would start to flicker gold, reflecting the candle at his bedside. A noise from the corridor caught his attention, and his dark head shot up, snapping the book in front of him shut, and stuffing it under the sheet on his bed. Glancing around him, he sat on his bed, crosslegged, staring defensively at the door. He remained like that for a while, until he gingerly drew the book out once more, flipping it back to the page he'd been reading, head bent over it again. He remained like that for a while, reading the book silently, except for the few furtive whispers of words that were in no language of this time. He looked up, getting off the bed, and glancing around the door into Gaius' work room. He walked towards Gaius' desk, lifting a bowl from it, and retreating to the room, clutching the bowl, before placing it on the bed. He sat back down, and glancing from the bowl to the book, he stretched out a wavering hand towards it. He opened his mouth, drawing in a raggedy breath, before he whispered.

"_Hlifian_."  
The candlelight caught his eyes once more, and his eyes burned pure gold.  
The bowl started to twitch, before slowly rising, wobbling in the air, tipping from side to side, as Merlin frowned at it, concentrating.

* * *

Arthur backed away from Merlin's bedroom door, heart thumping in his chest. Merlin? No. That idiot couldn't- He just couldn't. Arthur turned and ran out of Gaius' workroom, trying to get as far away from his friend as possible. In his panic, he knocked a stack of books off the table, and they fell to the floor with a thump. The thump was closely followed by a loud smash from Merlin's bedroom. Arthur ran, ran as fast as he could,heading for his quarters. Hearing the slap of feet on the stone floor behind him, he ran blindly, faster and faster. Reaching his quarters, he slipped through the doors, shutting them behind him, pressing his back against them, before sinking to the floor. _Merlin? It's just not possible. The- the- the idiot. The clotpole. He lied to me. He lied to us all._ Arthur's eyes narrowed, and he turned to face the door, locking it behind him. Heading over to the table, he grasped his sword, and held it close.  
The door swung open, and Arthur swung around, sword raised, glaring at the dark haired boy in front of him.  
"Woah, woah, Arthur! Put that down, you could take someone's eye out!" Merlin said, smiling weakly, hands raised.  
Sword still held on front of him, Arthur stalked closer to him.  
"It's King Arthur. Do you know what the punishment for sorcery is in Camelot, Merlin?"  
"Well, Arthu-"  
"King Arthur"  
"Arthur, in your father's day, it was death."  
"It still is." Arthur said, lifting the sword to Merlin's throat.  
"Oh, Arthur, you really don't want to do that."  
"Is that a threat, sorcerer?"  
Merlin chucked, and his eyes turned gold once more. "Maybe it is. _Forestelan iren_." The sword swung out of Arthur's hands and clattered the the floor. Arthur's eyes narrowed, and he glared at Merlin with disgust.  
"How can you even be here? You lied to me, to all of us. This is unforgivable, Merlin. You're a disgrace to our kingdom."  
Merlin returned the disgusted glare, before saying bitterly. "Saving you is a disgrace to Camelot, is it? I apologise, Your Highness. In the future, I won't save your royal arse."  
Arthur opened his mouth to retort indignantly, but Merlin cut him off. "No. I have been poisoned, punched, stabbed, knocked out, locked up, and nearly died countless times for you. You owe me, Arthur."  
"I owe you nothing."  
"You owe me everything, you prat." Arthur glared at him, pushing past him and striding towards the door. Merlin sighed, whispering, and the door slammed shut in Arthur's face.  
"Merlin! Open this door!" He barked.  
"No, Arthur. No. We are going to talk about this. Because I'm not leaving. And neither are you. Not until we get this sorted out."  
"You have magic. The penalty for that is death. What else is there to know?"  
"You wouldn't kill me, Arthur. I'm your friend."  
"You can't be my friend. I'm the King. It's my duty to have you killed."  
"Arthur, that was your father's duty. Not yours, you can have any duty you want. And you can't throw me out for being what I am. I can't change it. So don't try."

* * *

**Okay, this isn't something I would normally write, I thought I was doing this for a friend's fic (she's mimie-puddleduck, go have a look!) but when I asked her after I'd written it, she was like "lolnope." So, I thought I'd give it to you lovely people. But, since I thought I was writing it for her fic, I had to restrain myself from making Arthur and Merlin kiss. Because I thought it may permanently scar her readers. Because "kiss" is a metaphor for "graphic angst sex." This is getting away from the point. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**


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